Food delivery startup Zomato is planning to go public by mid-2021 that could mark a turning point for Indian unicorns as they wait to become profitable.

Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO of Zomato on Thursday, told employees that it was planning for its Initial Public Offering (IPO), the day when Info Edge informed the exchange that Zomato has raised $103 million as a part of its ongoing Series J Funding Round from New York-based Tiger Global Management. Goyal also let employees know that Zomato has around $250 million in the bank and which will be used by the company for potential mergers and acquisitions and to compete in the market.

“Our finance and legal teams are working hard to take us to IPO sometime in the first half of next year. The value of our business is going up dramatically, all thanks to the hard work and commitment of our team,” said Goyal in his email to employees. The latest funding has reached Zomato’s valuation to an inched up from $3.25 billion to $3.3 billion by closing the gap with its rival Swiggy that is estimated at $3.6 billion, said Goyal.

According to the latest report published in August, Zomato has estimated that the food delivery industry would come back to its Pre-COVID levels in the next 2-3 months, with 70 per cent of restaurants listed on its platform, delivering food at present.

“When a company is private, there can be mispricing with new investors boosting valuations. True value gets discovered during the listing process of the company and what market investors are ready to pay,” said Managing Partner of D and P Advisory Services LLP, Santosh N.

Zomato going public will also generate bullish sentiment among the late-stage investors. They have invested in Indian unicorns and startups which have seen only exits from investors through stake-sale to other venture capitalists, according to Santosh.